Customer Reviews

Heart and Soul (Thorndike Basic)

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(29)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

It's difficult to say anything negative about Maeve Binchy books. How can one fault books that are as warm and comfortable as a big fluffy blanket? True, there are some that are definitely better than others, some characters you care about more than others, but when all is said and done you always come away from reading a Binchy book appreciating the humor, compassion and Irish spirit that permeates each page.

In HEART AND SOUL, Binchy utilizes an underfunded heart clinic as the focal point for the intersecting lives of her characters. Although the publishers review would have you believe that this is the story of Dr. Clara Casey whose job it is to set up the clinic, the truth of the matter is that hers is just the tasty crust of this pie. The intersecting stories of the clinic staff and the patients they care for are the sweet and satisfying filling and together they present a tasty treat for your reading palate.

Die hard fans will recognize several characters from previous tomes like Night of Wind and Stars, Evening Class, Scarlett Feather and Quentins. While some make fleeting appearances, others like nurse Fiona Ryan (who was one of the co-stars in Night of Wind and Stars) have their stories come full circle with an outcome tied up in a big red bow. Most interesting among the newcomers are the Polish immigrant, Anya, and the story of her ill fated affair with the man who "used and abused" her. Others like Carl and his overbearing mother Rosemary, Declan the young doctor, and Hillary the physical therapist are ordinary people whose ordinary lives and problems are ones we can all relate to.

Binchy is the queen of multiple story lines and HEART AND SOUL takes the reader on a voyeuristic trip into the lives of its characters that is both enchanted and enchanting. The trip is sure to please and you don't even have to pack a bag.

It's a sad day when an author you first discovered decades ago as a reliable purveyor of great escapist sagas can no longer deliver the goods the way he or she once did. But I must admit, reluctantly, the Maeve Binchy I once enjoyed - the author of everything from Light A Penny Candle to Scarlet Feather- is no more. In her place, someone is writing cute, but slight, feel-good tales set in a Binchy-like landscape.

The main problem with that perfunctory approach to writing and with this book is that the characters and the plot both get short shrift. Within a few pages, Clara Casey has taken on the challenge of running a new cardiac care center and met a winsome young Polish woman and hired her to help. The supporting cast is predictable and their various dilemmas resolved in as predictably heart-warming manner as you might expect from Binchy. Like her more disappointing recent offerings (Whitethorn Woods (Vintage), this book is less a novel than a series of interwoven short stories, each involving a character whose life is tied in some way to the heart clinic (a doctor falling in love with a nurse, a priest trying to save his reputation, Ania's romantic dilemma). But there's not much to sink your teeth into, plotwise, in either complexity or substance. Where is the author of Tara Road??? While Binchy's strength remains the exploration of ordinary, everyday family relationships and romantic or other entanglements that are resolved with a dose of commonsense, in this book those plot developments are telegraphed so far ahead that they become, ultimately, unsatisfying. It's not the first time Binchy's most recent novels have fallen short, exacerbating the level of disappointment.

Nor has Binchy created a whole new cast of characters for this novel. Some will find her decision to rope in past characters such as Signora, Aidan, Brenda, and the twins from Scarlet Feather, as a plus; it's certainly fun to see them in new settings and find out what has happened to them. Ultimately, to this reader at least, the approach backfired, emphasizing how much less meaty this book is than Binchy's previous offerings in which the characters first appeared.

I'd recommend this primarily for die-hard Binchy fans who won't mind the book's shortcomings, focusing instead on the trademark heart-warming (apologies for the pun!) narrative. But there are other Irish writers who have followed Binchy along this path, and I'd suggest checking out the writings of Cathy Kelly (Best of Friends) or even Sheila O'Flanagan (Too Good to be True).

I enjoyed this book but absolutely hated the adaptation to the Kindle. Spaces between words were missed making it difficult to read. I had to read and reread in parts because in some areas whole groups of words were strung together. There were also hyphens all over the place. I hardly think the publisher made these errors. Amazon should take more care in proofreading these adaptations.

Heart and Soul is truly what this is book is about. Maeve Binchy brings you into the lives and homes of each character and brings other characters back and makes them inter twine perfectly like a magnificiant tapestry. She creates a story in a heart clinic, pure genius! From the very first written word to the last you cannot put this book down. You are invited into the lives of each character you share their happiness and sorrow. You feel like you are right there, a part of this world. The simple things in life that we take for granted, Maeve Binchy reminds us of it. I have read every one of her books and hope she writes forever. Reading this book, I want to go back and re read them all. I want to go back and re visit the lives of Cathy and Tom Scarlett, how they met and what they went through together. Fiona, when she was in Greece, I feel like they are my old friends. Maeve Binchy's writing style captures you from the very start. I can never put her books down. The respect she has for people, life, love, her country and characters, to see it through her writing just takes you there. I can't wait for her next book.

I've read all of Maeve Binchy's books. I've really liked most of them; she had one or two that were okay, but no great shakes. This one was just plain not good. The story itself drags, wandering off in improbable directions. She made a start on the plot and characters, then spent so much time shoehorning in characters, places and bits from past books -- this story just got shoved aside. In her interview, Ms. Binchy said that she wanted to tie up some loose ends from previous stories. Bad idea. This wasn't the time or place for it. The dialogue in "Heart And Soul" had to be its worst point; stilted, awkward, uncomfortable and unbelievable -- nobody talks like these characters did. I felt as though the book was being read to me by someone learning to speak English. If you love absolutely anything Maeve Binchy writes, no matter what, then this is the book for you. If you're looking for a good story line, well-developed characters, depth of dialogue...you won't find it in "Heart And Soul".

I was the biggest Maeve Binchy fan growing up (I even wrote to her once and she was kind enough to write back). Therefore I keep reading her novels in hopes that she will once again write one as entrancing as Light a Penny Candle. Alas, we're not there yet. I enjoyed the beginning of this book about Clara Casey and wish the whole novel had centered on her and her family rather than making extended detours to visit characters from previous novels I barely remembered. Binchy is still a great story teller and unlike many writers, finds the warmth, humanity and trials in people living very ordinary lives. I just felt this novel was disjointed and spent paragraphs on issues that merited whole chapters. Nonetheless, I wish her the best and hope she'll return to her earlier style of writing one day.

Like most people reading these reviews, I love, love LOVE Maeve

Binchy books but this one not so much. I think she left too many unanswered questions. Or maybe she will write a sequel? In her current book she's added characters from previous books which I thought was cool. Don't pay full price for the hardbound copy of this book - wait and get it in paperback.

I've read and enjoyed Maeve Binchy's books before, but this one missed the mark. Characters were still being introduced more than half way through the novel and then rarely mentioned again. Story lines seemed to start and stop abruptly, with little direction or tie in to the overall story line. While Clara's story carried throughout, I found myself not caring much about many of the characters and all the detours from her story to be distracting and of little consequence. I did not find these characters to be developed well at all. It's not a book that delivers a well-written story to its readers.

I am a huge fan of Maeve Binchy! I have every one of her books, however, this one I found alittle boring and was disappointed. I waited and waited for her to come out with a new book...but was alittle let down.

Maeve Binchy is still writing -- after saying years ago that she planned to retire -- and has produced a good novel. It kept my interest; I did indeed care about the characters and could see them in my mind. Some were a little stock, but that might help the reader see each character better.

The main reason I give this work a "4" is because many readers will find it helpful to have had some previous knowledge of Binchy's works, such as "Scarlet Feather" and "Whitethorn Woods." She brings characters from these works into this novel, so knowing these works helps when reading "Heart and Soul."